Solely aggregation of news articles, with no opinions expressed by this service since 2009 launch on this platform.
Copyright to all articles remains with the publisher and HEADLINES ARE CLICKABLE to access published articles.
(Subscription by RSS is recommended, even though email, LinkedIn and Google+ updates are available.)

DUBAI, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Egypt's bourse rose to a five-year high on Wednesday, ignoring a militant threat against foreign tourists, after the central bank said it would give local commercial banks $1.4 billion to fund mortgages. Most Gulf markets rose though Dubai was hit by profit-taking.

The Sinai-based militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis warned tourists to leave Egypt and threatened to attack any who stayed after Thursday. It is taking aim at an important part of Egypt's economy and a key earner of foreign exchange.

But many Egyptian investors believe the government can prevent the violence in Sinai from seriously destabilising the rest of the country, and that billions of dollars of aid from Cairo's Gulf allies will support its finances."

"Fireworks exploded from the Burj Khalifa and celebrations held across the UAE last November following the announcement that Dubai was chosen to host the 2020 World Expo. In becoming the region’s first city to hold the Expo, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, vowed to “breathe new life into the ancient role of the Middle East as a melting pot for cultures and creativity”.

As well as being a hub for commerce, the UAE has always been an innovative hub for exchanging ideas and information. That is why the British government was fully behind the Expo bid from early on.

Over one million British nationals visit the UAE every year and more than 100,000 British citizens live and work in the country. Meanwhile, thousands of Emiratis come to the UK to visit, study or do business. Our partnership crosses sectors including education, energy, defence and many others."

"Emirates Investment Bank yesterday said total assets under management jumped 71 per cent last year as the UAE’s safe-haven status continued to attract funds from politically troubled countries in the Middle East and other emerging markets.

Total assets under management increased to Dh4.26 billion last year from Dh2.49bn in 2012, the boutique investment and private bank said. Net profit last year increased 38 per cent to Dh36.2 million compared with Dh26.3m in 2012, while customer deposits more than doubled to Dh1.67bn from Dh800m.

"More than 100,000 expatriate jobs will go to Omani nationals as the country moves to reduce unemployment.

The percentage of foreign employment in the country’s private sector will decline from 39 per cent to 33 per cent, the Oman News Agency said yesterday.

“Intensified efforts were made last year by the government to regularise the labour market, update its legislations and provide job opportunities for citizens to enhance their contribution to the development process,” the minister of manpower, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Bakri, said on Monday.

Oman, the second smallest economy in the Arabian Gulf, is expected to record growth of 4 per cent compounded annually from 2011 to 2016, according to forecasts by the IMF."

The Dubai-based telecoms operator’s revenues grew by 9.7 per cent to Dh10.8bn with revenue from mobile data increasing by 33.8 per cent to Dh1.77bn. Net profit before royalties grew 6.7 per cent to Dh3.01bn.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased 7.3 per cent to Dh4.29bn."

"The Ukraine bond rally spurred by Russia’s pledge to provide more cash to the country lasted about one hour, underscoring how deadly street protests in Kiev are overshadowing the government’s push to line up aid.

Ukraine’s $1 billion of notes due in June jumped as much as 1.4 percent at the opening of trading yesterday after Russia said it would resume a $15 billion bailout program put on hold last month. The notes then slid throughout most of the day, with the price closing down 0.2 percent, as the deadliest day of clashes since the beginning of the three-month standoff claimed 10 lives. The yield on the 2014 notes rose to 21.92 percent, about 12 percentage points higher than debt due 2023.

Ukrainian bond yields approached record highs and the currency has tumbled 7 percent in 2014 to a five-year low as President Viktor Yanukovych’s government failed to quell tension with opposition forces calling for his ouster. Europe’s riskiest borrower, struggling with foreign reserves at the lowest level since 2006, introduced capital controls this month to try to stem outflows as government bonds slumped the most among emerging markets."